We’ve had two great days on the spin this week to build further on what’s been a highly profitable NBA season. We’re back again on Saturday where there’s another big nine-game slate for us to sink our teeth into. Check out our best spread and player prop bets below!
NBA Betting Tips: Saturday, 20th of February
Golden State Warriors at Orlando Magic
Amway Center, 11am AEDT
Golden State Warriors are coming off a thrilling overtime win against the Heat, which made it four wins from their past five games. A lot of pundits wrote the Warriors off after some early season struggles, but they’re now 16-13 and loom as a huge threat in the West.
Orlando Magic are coming off an important win over the Knicks by 18 points despite starting as underdogs. Evan Fournier was a big inclusion and made himself dangerous on offence, while Vucevic was beasting again with 16 and 16. The Magic come into this at 11-16 despite their 4-0 start.
These clubs met a couple of weeks ago in a game that the Warriors were able to negotiate a tight win. With all the injuries and form issues plaguing the Magic at the moment, we’re expecting another Warrior win, perhaps by a more comfortably margin.
We mentioned Fournier was a big inclusion last game and we expect him to be one of the focal points of the Magic offence again here. Expect him to have a couple more open looks than he did last start and for him to get up 20+ points at home.
Prop: Fournier O18.5 Points ($1.95)
Golden State Warriors -3.5
$1.82
Atlanta Hawks at Boston Celtics
TD Garden, 11:30am AEDT
Atlanta Hawks were able to upset the Celtics last time out on the back of a huge performance by Clint Capela. Prior to that the Hawks had lost seven of their past eight and had given up 118+ points in five straight games. Defence certainly remains an issue for the 12-16 Hawks.
Boston Celtics are going through a tough stretch with three losses in their past four games and their main cause for concern is on the offensive end. Jaylen Brown and Jayson Tatum continue to get theirs, but with Kemba Walker struggling the lack of a third option is evident.
We picked the Celtics to cover against the Hawks a couple of days ago and were burned, but we’re prepared to attack again. The Celtics are by far the better team and Brad Stevens is a very good coach, so we expect them to make the necessary adjustments to turn the result around here.
While we do expect the Celtics to get revenge, we still see Clint Capela having a big night, such is the lack of big-man presence on the Celtics roster. He should be good for another big double-double in this one.
Prop: Capela O30.5 PRA ($1.90)
Boston Celtics -3.5
$1.90
Utah Jazz at Los Angeles Clippers
Staples Center, 2pm AEDT
Utah Jazz have been the best team in the competition for over a month now, winning nine straight and 19 of their last 20. They’re on a historic run and are winning nearly all of these games by double-figures. As a result, the Jazz currently occupy top spot in both the West and the league in terms of win/loss percentage.
Los Angeles Clippers have rarely had both Kawhi Leonard and Paul George on the park together this season, which is mirroring what we saw last campaign. Their supporting cast has done a solid job holding down the fort, but it’s evident they need to get some team chemistry going before the playoffs. The Clippers are at 21-9 and third in the Western Conference.
These teams met just a couple of days ago and while the Clippers put up a good fight for two-and-a-bit quarters, the Jazz were solid throughout and came away with another very comfortable win. Even if the two superstars in George and Leonard return for the Clippers, we have way too much confidence in the Jazz at the moment and will be taking them to cover the spread.
We’re targeting another big-man with our player prop bet here in Rudy Gobert. He gave the Clippers a nightmare the other night with a monster 20-20 and there’s simply no-one that can match up on him. There is no reason why he can’t put up big numbers again on Saturday.
Prop: Gobert O29.5 PRA ($1.87)
